Today should be rather hectic with the second Test between England and Pakistan kicking off at 11am, the same time the Champions League final qualifying round draw gets underway, as Spurs find out if they will face Sampdoria, Braga, Auxerre, Dynamo Kyiv or Young Boys of Bern.

We''ll have live updates on that, plus the Europa League play-off round draw at 12.30pm. JD

9.25am: Gordon Strachan, a firecracker and a traffic jam all star in this week's You are the Ref. JD

9.47am: The Liverpool ownership saga rumbles grimly onwards, with a statement on behalf of Kenneth Huang's bid insisting the Chinese entrepeneur was not about to make Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr rich off the deal. "What is not one of our goals in the enrichment of the existing owners," said Marc Ganis, whose Chicago-based company Sportscorp Ltd. helped form Huang's investment group. "If we submit a proposal and it is accepted, it would be focused on the future and not the past." PB

10.30am: A couple of quick notes: our Fulham Premier League season preview is now up; and Manchester United have confirmed that Michael Carrick will miss the start of the season after injuring his ankle. He can expect two weeks on the sidelines. And United have also confirmed that Danny Welbeck and Mame Biram Diouf are set to go out on loan: Sunderland and Blackburn, respectively, are expected to pick up the players with deals due to be completed later today. JD

10.44am: Right folks, TV coverage of the Champions League play-off draw is set to start from 11am - so with a little bit of luck we should know who Tottenham are playing by early next week. I'll be here to keep you posted with all the latest from the Uefa jamboree as it gets underway ... PB

10.58am: In the meantime here, for the unititiated, is how it works. The 20 teams left in Champions League qualifying have been separated evenly into two groups - those who won their domestic leagues last season are in the champions section, and those that didn't the non-champions section. Within each of those sections, five teams have been seeded, and five left unseeded. Seeded teams cannot be drawn against each other.

11am: The upshot of the system outlined in that last post is that Tottenham will face one of Dynamo Kyiv, Braga, Sampdoria, Auxerre or Young Boys. I'd say the first of those teams is definitely the one they'd be most worried about. PB

11.07am: Annoyingly, our Eurosport feed seems to have fallen over, and Sky Sports News are not yet showing the draw. It looks like the draw for the Champions path may have already started, though, as Eurosport's website is showing that FC Salzburg will face Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Rosenborg are playing Copenhagen. PB

11.11am: What's with all this haste? I demand boring video montages reminding us how great Uefa are and unnecessary award giving to old footballers. Some jamboree this is. PB

11.12am: Oh they've only gone and got the softest team in there! To little fanfare, Man With Egg-Shaped Head and Short Man With Glasses pull out the first two teams - and it's Tottenham v Young Boys! PB

11.17am: Well that has worked out very well for Tottenham indeed - Young Boys may have knocked out Fenerbahce in the last round but there is no doubting that they were the draw fans will have been hoping for. Sampdoria v Werder Bremen looks like the tie of the round, and unfortunately for Antonio Cassano and chums I'm not sure I fancy their chances. But with Werder's Mesut Ozil and Samp's Giampaolo Pazzini both reportedly attracting high-profile suitors, much may depend on the next ten days' transfer activity. PB

11.24am: "Any idea what dates Spurs are now playing," asks Andy Gledhill. "I assume away in the first leg?" Uefa haven't released the exact dates yet, Andy, but Tottenham will indeed play away in Bern on the 17th or 18th of August, then the return leg on either the 24th or 25th. PB

11.55am: "Interesting draw for Young Boys player Scott Sutter, who was born in England and is to all intents and purposes English, but was forced to go to Switzerland to get his opportunity," writes John Sullivan. An Enfield lad, apparently, who once was a Tottenham season-ticket holder. He's already been tapped up on Sky Sports News just now ... Here he is in YouTube. JD

12.20pm: Marlon King, recently released halfway through an 18-month sentence after being convicted of punching a 20-year-old woman while out celebrating his wife's latest pregnancy, has today vowed to clear his name. Speaking in a lengthy BBC Radio 5 Live interview, alongside his wife, King said:

"If every conviction was 1,000% right then we wouldn't have a chance to appeal. That would be the final decision. I'm here today and I will fight tooth and nail to clear my name and take it to wherever I've got to, if it's the last thing I do.

"I know I've made mistakes and I'm not perfect but I'm here today to clarify I'm not a sexual offender, I'm not a sex beast, I've never been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman before, I've never hit a police officer. A lot of things that were said were totally untrue but I understand why people have that perception because it's in black and white and it's in front of you."

JD

12.50pm: Liverpool have been drawn against Trabzonspor in the Europa League play-off draw. Celtic, meanwhile, face Utrecht.

12.55pm: More news from the Europa League play-off draw. Dundee United v Aek Athens.

1pm: Pakistan, having opted to bat remember, are 37-6 at Edgbaston at lunch.

1.03pm: More from the Europa League play-off draw: CSKA Sofia v The New Saints, Aston Villa face Rapid Vienna for the second year in a row, Timisoara play Manchester City and Odense play Motherwell.

1.36pm: Sky Sports News are running a ticker confirming the news we had this morning that Cesc Fábregas is staying at Arsenal. Haven't seen any fresh quotes as yet, but we'll post them here as soon as we do. PB

"Firstly I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I have not known what I was going to do until this moment. I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me. This was the club where I learnt my football, it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing.

"There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona. I have had many conversations with Arsène Wenger both in person and over the phone over the last few months and although the content of those conversations will remain private, the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal.

"I am a professional and I fully understand that it is Arsenal's prerogative not to sell me. I owe a lot to the Club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal. I can assure all the fans that now the negotiations have ended I will be 100% focused on playing for Arsenal.

"I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch, that is the only club I will be thinking about. I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me."

4.25pm Pakistan's bowlers are making a game of it in the second Test. Mohammeds Aamer and Asif are proving a real handful. England are two down with 54 on the board, Kevin Pietersen is in needing a score and Imran Farhat has just dropped a relative sitter at second slip to dismiss Jonathan Trott. There were smiles and laughing when Pakistan dropped catches at Trent Bridge, but not this time. Heads in hands stuff as Trott escapes. Andy Bull has all the action live, and you can watch highlights of the morning session from Edgbaston here.

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie believes Tiger Woods is "not mentally with it". The Scot told Sky Sports he takes no pleasure in it but has concerns the long-time world No1 may not be in shape for the Ryder Cup. We will have a full story on that later.

5.00pm Kris Boyd has been talking to The Guardian's Louise Taylor about swapping Rangers for Middlesbrough, and he's not shy about his ambition for his new club. You can read today's Big Interview here.

Today's Fiver has made it through the legal department in spite of James Dart's very finest efforts. Cesc Fábregas has put a face on, not necessarily a brave one, after his aborted, (delayed, failed?) move to Barcelona, and 'Arry's lads drew Young Boys in their Big Cup play-off. Appy 'Arry? Not arf. Get your daily dose here.

Norwich's Grant Holt was found guilty of a motoring offence in a confusing incident that may become clearer in future. He didn't turn up to court, but will he play tonight? The full story here.